Three brothers, including two of America’s most successful luxury real estate brokers, were convicted of s3x trafficking charges on Monday, March 9 after a five-week trial over accusations that they used drugs and force to rape numerous women they had impressed with their wealth and extravagant lifestyle.
The verdict followed testimony from 11 women who said they were sexually assaulted by one or more of the brothers: twins Oren and Alon Alexander, 38, and their older brother Tal Alexander, 39.
According to the women, many of the alleged attacks happened after they were invited to glamorous trips and vacation spots, including the Hamptons, a Caribbean cruise and a ski getaway in Aspen, Colorado. Prosecutors said more than 60 women have accused one or more of the brothers of rape.
Defense attorneys argued that the accusers had unreliable memories or were motivated by the possibility of financial gain. They acknowledged that the brothers had reputations as womanizers but insisted that all sexual encounters were consensual.
The jury began deliberations on Thursday before returning the guilty verdict.
Before the case, Oren and Tal Alexander worked as brokers at the luxury real estate firm Douglas Elliman before launching their own company, Official. Their brother Alon Alexander worked at the family’s private security business.
In addition to the criminal case, the three brothers face about two dozen civil lawsuits. One of them was filed by Tracy Tutor, a reality television star from “Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles,” who alleges that Oren Alexander drugged and assaulted her in a restaurant bathroom during a real estate event in New York City.
As those lawsuits became public, more women came forward claiming they had also experienced sexual harassment or assault, saying the brothers’ behavior toward women had long been an open secret within the real estate industry.
During the trial, several women testified that they believed they had been drugged after being handed drinks by one of the brothers. Some said they lost control of their bodies after consuming less than a single drink.
Prosecutors said the brothers often met women at nightclubs, parties and through dating apps, later inviting them on luxurious trips with flights and high-end accommodations paid for.
One woman testified that she first met the brothers at a party in 2012 at actor Zac Efron’s Manhattan apartment. She said she had little interaction with the actor, who was not accused of wrongdoing, before later waking up naked with Alon Alexander standing over her.
Prosecutors rejected claims that the women were motivated by money. Only two of the accusers have filed lawsuits, and both are already wealthy, a prosecutor told jurors.
Another woman testified that she was raped by Alon Alexander in Aspen in 2017 when she was 17 years old and said she is the daughter of a billionaire.
“I don’t want their money. I just don’t want them to have it,” she told the jury.
Lindsey Acree, a Brooklyn artist and gallery owner, testified that Tal Alexander and another man raped her at a Hamptons home in 2011 after she became severely disoriented from drinking less than half a glass of wine.
Now 40, she said she filed a lawsuit last year not for financial gain but because the brothers had publicly labeled their accusers as “gold diggers” and “con artists.”
“If there’s a kid with a stick who keeps hitting people, you take their stick away,” she told the jury. “Money is their stick, so you take it away so they can’t hurt people anymore.”
Prosecutors also presented text messages and emails in which the brothers allegedly bragged about sexual encounters and discussed how certain drugs could lower a woman’s inhibitions. Investigators said they also found references to sneaking drugs onto a cruise ship, as well as evidence that at least one assault had been recorded and images of victims were shared.
